Age:

Occupation:

1/7:

What makes you 1 of 7 billion?

KR:

I don’t think anyone else out there has experienced life with such an intertwined desire to push physical limits, to slow down and explore and advocate for the wild places and public lands that are so important to many of us, to teach others about just how these special places came to be, and to learn more about the natural world through scientific research. Each of these passions of mine has fueled and contributed to one another. That’s a pretty dang powerful combination.

1/7:

Where does your passion come from?

KR:

I think put most simply, my motivation comes from being outside and experiencing that world in a variety of ways, learning about it, and helping to promote its protection. I’ve got a serious competitive side that’s been a part of me since I started racing bikes and skinny skis back in high school. That desire to push my own limits and grow as an athlete has been there for 20+ years. But I also feel a deep compulsion to explore new places at a much slower and more relaxed speed – to move through and try to learn from where I am, usually in the form of bikepacking trips. Sometimes those are just a single night long and sometimes they’re a month – each can be just as rewarding and insightful. And I want to help facilitate others having similar experiences, whether that involves getting students into the field or developing bikepacking routes and guides for others. Seeing and hearing how individuals are impacted by such experiences is particularly powerful motivation.

1/7:

What barriers have you identified in life that have kept you from following your passions, and how have you learned to overcome those barriers?

KR:

It may sound cliché, but perhaps the biggest barriers found are taking on too much and not being willing or able to fully commit to the most important things. I’ve learned an awful lot in my 30s (far more than in my 20s, it seems!), and the most important lesson has been to minimize the energy that I put into things that are not particularly rewarding (or that don’t help directly move me toward the things that are particularly rewarding). Saying “yes” to too many things just dilutes the energy we have available for where we really need to be devoting it. Making space for what’s truly inspiring and committing fully to pursue that often involves sacrifices in other areas, but it’s the best way to ensure that we’re able to really nurture our passions. I’ve opted to live quite frugally, keeping expenses to a minimum, which allowed me to save enough money to feel comfortable taking the leap from full-time work to a couple part-time gigs that couldn’t grow further on their own without more attention. Trusting in that leap was tough, but every big leap I’ve ever made has proven to be a step in a very positive direction. And the more I commit to any single pursuit, whether that’s in racing, in career changes, etc., the more passionate I am about the process and the more likely I am to experience a truly amazing outcome.

1/7:

What made you want to start Bikepacking Roots and how was your passion involved?

KR:

Bikepacking Roots, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, was co-founded with Kaitlyn Boyle in 2017 as a result of a shared passion around bikepacking, the impact the bikepacking experience can have on individuals, a desire to facilitate those experiences through developing exceptional bikepacking routes, and the need to help grow the bikepacking community’s advocacy for our needs as a user group and as passionate users of public lands. No other organization has had such a focus on supporting and growing the bikepacking community and the places through which we ride, so we created our own. And it’s been so empowering to feel the emphatic support from the community – we already have more than 4,000 members, we had more than 25 people reach out about joining our board of directors when we expanded it last year, and the reception to our release of the 2,700 Wild West Route has been truly astounding. And seeing more bikepackers engaging in advocacy issues has been even more rewarding. That all confirms that following our passion in this project was a particularly wise decision. And that continued and reaffirmed passion helps motivate me when things get challenging in ways that aren’t particularly inspiring..

1/7:

Can you share your favorite inspirational quote to help motivate others?

KR:

Nope, I’m not much of a fan of what other people say. I think it’s far more powerful to figure out your own mantras based on how you’ve overcome challenges in the past. Then use those mantras in the future, being sure to not forget them when the going gets particularly tough.

1/7:

What Passion(s) are you following in 2019?

KR:

For me, 2019 has been all about making some big changes in my life to better set myself up for focusing on my passions in 2020 and beyond. I made the tough decision to step away from my full-time job as a geology professor. After a few years of balancing that, racing bikes, running Bikepacking Roots, and coaching quite a few athletes, something had to give. So I chose to chase the parts of my life that I’ve been most excited about.

Having a fast and fun ride in the Colorado Trail Race this summer was also a big goal after success in that race had eluded me on four prior occasions. With quite a bit of focus put on that, I managed to finish first with a whole lot of smiling along the way, becoming the first person to win each of the bikepacking Triple Crown events (Tour Divide in 2011, Arizona Trail Race in 2018, and the Colorado Trail Race in 2019)!

Next year, I’m really excited to dedicate more of my time to Bikepacking Roots – we’ve got an amazing and talented board of directors behind it, our momentum is steadily growing, and we have some really exciting projects in the works. All that has been particularly inspiring. I’m also very excited to continue racing with new and old challenges alike. I’m planning to head to Alaska to take part in the Iditarod Trail Invitational, something that’ll really force me into a realm in which I’m not particularly comfortable or experienced. I want to return to the Grand Loop, the first rugged mountain bike ultra in the United States and the first one that I ever did. The race itself may be gone, but the wild and demanding desert landscape and all the old trail and mining roads are still there, and I’m drawn to the concept of coming full-circle. And there’s an Arctic expedition in the works for later in the summer, one that combines a passion I developed for that place after 5 field research season up there, an incredible team, a story of another expedition that never returned, and the need to better spread a message of the rapid and unprecedented environmental change currently being experienced by the region. Needless to say, next year is looking pretty dang exciting in so many ways.

My Thoughts on Kurt

I knew Kurt from online for some time before I finally met him in person. Like any online relationship it was vail thin in the scope of things. We simply both shared some of the same passions. When I did met Kurt in person at the 25 Hours in Frog Hollow bike race, he recognized me right away and said hello before I did. Kurt’s character became clear right away.

In my opinion, one of the things that stands out about Kurt is his personality. If you watch him talk others you’ll see he truly listens and engages with them. It’s easy to see why he used to be a teacher. This must also be a big help with Bikepacking Roots advocacy work too. His personality is the same online as it is in everyday life, which is rare.

Just last month at the start of the Colorado Trail Race I watched as Kurt interacted with multiple people, as he fetched coffee and checked his tire pressure at 3:30 am. He did so in a relaxed and humble manner, while most were abuzz with nervous energy. You could see Kurt was in his element and looking forward to testing himself.

I’ve always been in awe of his ability to push himself on the bike as well. It’s been great following his racing achievements, but even more amazing has been to watch him mold multiple passions into one with Bikepacking Roots. The Bikepacking community is lucky to have Kurt in our corner.

It was great to see Kurt talking about focusing on what’s most important and sacrificing in his answer above, in regards to the question about barriers. This is something I learned from my thru-hiking and try to pass on to others whenever I can. Reading Kurt’s answer was as if I had written it myself.

More about Kurt here.

BIO

Bio

I’ve been drawn to the great outdoors, bikes, and adventure for as long as I can remember. From roaming steep trails in the local woods on my old Schwinn kids bike to going on solo backpacking trips while still in high school, my passions are deeply rooted. After spending quite a few years focused on racing road and cyclocross during my 8 years of graduate school studying glacial geology, geomorphology, and paleoclimate, I found myself enamored by the idea of self-supported mountain bike ultras through remote country. A decade later, I’m more excited than ever about these sorts of races, I’ve won quite a few of them, and I can’t wait for the next one. I’ve also spent weeks at a time bikepacking on 6 different continents and taken dozens of college students out bikepacking. All this contributed to my realizations of how impactful and transformative bikepacking experiences can be and how unique our amazing mosaic of public lands here in the United States are from a global perspective. That led to the founding of the Bikepacking Roots non-profit three years ago, and after 6 years of teaching geology at Prescott College, I’m moving on to focus attention more on Bikepacking Roots and coaching endurance mountain bikers. I’m also sure I’ll find new venues to teach geology outside of the academic sphere in the future.

About the Passion Profiles

Throughout my adventures I’ve meet people who I think truly embrace what it means to be passionate. The subject of their passion isn’t always the same or one I might share but that is what makes them standout. I believe our passions are a big part of what makes us unique.

Each month I will choose an individual who embodies what it means to be passionate or One of Seven Billion. The goal of the Passion Profiles is not to simply highlight these individuals but to share their story and passion(s), in hopes it will motivate others to embrace and follow their own passions.

The Passion Profiles embrace the One of Seven Project’s Core Values and attempt to make a difference in others’s lives by helping to breakdown barriers, while encouraging them to be unique, or One of Seven Billion.

Core Values

Encourage others to truly know themselves and their passions.

Assist others in celebrating their uniqueness by following those passions that make them unique.

Humanize adventure.

Help others be the best version of themselves.

If you know someone who would be a good candidate, please use our Contact form and let us know who they are and how we can reach them. You can also watch my introduction video for the Passion Profiles below. Thanks!